After an eight-year legal battle, Nigerian televangelist Pastor Tim Omotoso was acquitted on all 32 charges of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking by South Africa’s Eastern Cape High Court on Wednesday.
Judge Irma Schoeman ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt against the 66-year-old founder of Jesus Dominion International church, despite what she called his “improbable” explanations. The verdict also cleared two church assistants charged alongside him.
Omotoso, who had been detained since his 2017 arrest, fell to his knees in prayer upon hearing the decision. The case involved multiple young female accusers – some allegedly recruited from his Grace Galaxy gospel group while still school-aged – who testified the pastor selected them for sexual encounters followed by “forgiveness prayers.”
The acquittal sparked protests outside the Gqeberha courthouse, occurring amid national outrage over gender violence following the alleged rape of a 7-year-old at school. South Africa recorded 42,500 reported rapes in 2023-24, with activists condemning systemic failures in prosecuting such cases.
Legal analysts note the judgment highlights evidentiary challenges in complex sexual offense trials, though women’s groups decried it as another setback for South Africa’s fight against impunity for gender crimes. The prosecution has not indicated whether it will appeal.
